The Role of a Lifetime

Deimantas Narkevičius (b. 1964, Lithuania) lives and works in Vilnius. Originally trained as a sculptor, Narkevičius tarted using film during the early nineties. Employing documentary footage, voice-overs, interviews, re-enactments, and found photographs, his films submit historical events to the narrative structures of storytelling and cinema. In his artistic practice Narkevičius examines the relationship of personal memories to political histories, particularly those of his native Lithuania. Eschewing the common features of contemporary documentaries, the central characters of Narkevičius’s narratives are often absent from the screen, replaced by objects, drawings, and other surrogates.He has exhibited extensively around the world at including at Centre Pompidou (Paris), Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid), Tate Modern (London), Museum of Modern Art (New York), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the 49th and 50th Venice biennials, and Manifesta II and X. In 2008, Narkevičius was awarded the Vincent Award and the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, and in 2017, the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius held a major retrospective of his work.